Freight Futures data to watch today: Spot National Contract
In a recurring theme, Trucking Freight Futures were lower across the board for a fifth consecutive session on Tuesday, as freight volumes and the uncertainty of economic recovery weighed on the market. The spot National contract (FUT.VNU202004, FUTC1.VNU) finished down $0.01, or 0.74%, to close at $1.339 per mile. The National forward curve (FWD.VNU) shows that the market expects a short-term rise in rates into the summer though lower than the same period in 2019. The East regional contract (FUT.VEU202004) lost $0.015 (1%) and settled at $1.426, while the South regional contract (FUT.VSU202004) dropped 0.8%, to end at $1.199. The West regional contract (FUT.VWU202004) was down 0.5% and closed at $1.391.
The East region continues to be the primary drag on rates, led by the ATL to PHL contract (FUT.VAP202004), which tumbled another $0.025, or 1.5%, to $1.692. Over the course of the month, the contract is down over 10%. The CHI to ATL contract (FUT.VCA202004) dropped $0.011 (0.7%) to $1.598, and the PHL to CHI contract (FUT.VPC202004) lost 0.8%, to end at $0.988. The LAX to Dal contract (FUT.VLD202004) in the South slid $0.011 (0.9%) to $1.256, while the DAL to LAX contract (FUT.VDL202004) fell a modest 0.4%, to close at $1.142. In the West, the SEA to LAX contract (FUT.VSL202004) and the LAX to SEA contract (FUT.VLS202004) both fell modestly again to settle at $1.929 and $0.854, respectively.
